--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that…" description: "\"“Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the ground. Dragging its flounces across the damp grass, she looked like a mediaeval lady from the rub..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg" --- # Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the… ![“Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the ground. Dragging its flounces across the damp grass, she looked like a mediaeval lady from the rubric of an illuminated Book of Hours, a remote princess engaged in some now obsolete pastime.” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg) > ““Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the ground. Dragging its flounces across the damp grass, she looked like a mediaeval lady from the rubric of an illuminated Book of Hours, a remote princess engaged in some now obsolete pastime.”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character's attire evokes medieval elegance, contrasting with modern setting. **In simple terms:** Clothing can evoke timeless images. Key Takeaway Notice how style shapes perception. Themes fashion historical reference contrast Mood descriptive nostalgic Type literary visual When to use this quote - literary description - visual storytelling - character development Key Concepts aesthetic symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does attire influence character perception? - What does this contrast reveal about the era? A Different Perspective Modern dress may not fully capture ancient nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Jeans Fiona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jeans-fiona-5625241/) [Mediaeval Lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediaeval-lady-5625240/) [Rusty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rusty/) [Rusty Wore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rusty-wore-5625238/) [Skirt Swept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skirt-swept-5625239/) ## Related quotes > [Most artists have retired too absolutely; they grow rusty, inflexible to the flow of currents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/most-artists-have-retired-too-absolutely-they-grow-rusty-inflexible/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I dont want what looks like shining gold, because underneath, its just rusty old coal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dancer2115/i-dont-want-what-looks-like-shining-gold-because-underneath-its-just/) [Dancer2115](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dancer2115/) > [I'll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-take-a-rusty-nail-and-scratch-your-initials-on-my-arm/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I went back to Dallas for a little while to finish my short film 'Rusty Forkblade.' It was not the instant success I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-daugherty/i-went-back-to-dallas-for-a-little-while-to-finish-my-short-film/) [Evan Daugherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-daugherty/) > [A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass, will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/a-rusty-nail-placed-near-a-faithful-compass-will-sway-it-from-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“Right. The Briars. Just a second, Princess. Hey, Rusty,” he called, motioning to Ironhorse, who pinned back his ears, “why don’t you walk ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/right-the-briars-just-a-second-princess-hey-rusty-he-called-motioning/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“The sun is rising, a rusty color, the color of old blood, and I’m so”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/the-sun-is-rising-a-rusty-color-the-color-of-old-blood-and-i-m-so/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“He laughed and it sounded startled and a bit rusty, as if he didn't do that very often.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-mccabe/he-laughed-and-it-sounded-startled-and-a-bit-rusty-as-if-he-didn-t-do/) [Amanda McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-mccabe/) > [“Will Claxton could smell trouble brewing a mile away, but tonight he didn’t need to go that far. Seated on his favorite bar stool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/will-claxton-could-smell-trouble-brewing-a-mile-away-but-tonight-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The moment an athlete doesn't train, things start to get a bit rusty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-gates/the-moment-an-athlete-doesn-t-train-things-start-to-get-a-bit-rusty/) [Gareth Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-gates/) > [We need to work to keep from getting rusty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-stone/we-need-to-work-to-keep-from-getting-rusty/) [Jesse Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-stone/) > [I think my most famous was 'Poco's Legend.' It's a white album with a simple line drawing of a horse. It almost has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hartman/i-think-my-most-famous-was-poco-s-legend-it-s-a-white-album-with-a/) [Phil Hartman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hartman/) > [“Chains get rusty. Either they merely need some soothing oil, and everything will run smoothly, or they need a game-change. There is no need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/chains-get-rusty-either-they-merely-need-some-soothing-oil-and/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [I really look at my childhood as being one giant rusty tuna can that I continue to recycle in many different shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-really-look-at-my-childhood-as-being-one-giant-rusty-tuna-can-that/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [And the other thing for the sort of posher kids was a sort of lethal scooter, you know. One of the things that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lowe/and-the-other-thing-for-the-sort-of-posher-kids-was-a-sort-of-lethal/) [Nick Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lowe/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the ground. Dragging its flounces across the damp grass, she looked like a mediaeval lady from the rubric of an illuminated Book of Hours, a remote princess engaged in some now obsolete pastime.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that-swept-the-ground-dragging/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that-swept-the-ground-dragging/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/anthony-powell-2659_books_rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that_714035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long skirt that swept the ground. Dragging its flounces across the damp grass, she…” — Anthony Powell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anthony Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Rusty wore jeans, Fiona a long...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that-swept-the-ground-dragging/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/rusty-wore-jeans-fiona-a-long-skirt-that-swept-the-ground-dragging/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```